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Access nonpartisan research and news about the policies shaping education in Kansas and Missouri.

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  • Weekly Update

    This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Kansas and Missouri begin shaping how Workforce Pell Grants will work in practice, with legislation in both states outlining program approval and implementation. Kansas — Lawmakers finalize the FY 2027 state budget and wrap up major education bills in conference committees ahead…

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  • Kansas Legislature passes state budget

    This analysis originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter, where we track key education and workforce policy developments across Kansas and Missouri. Subscribe to get these updates delivered directly to your inbox. Late Thursday night into earlier this morning, the Kansas Senate (23-16) and House of…

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  • Weekly Update

    This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Missouri’s School Funding Modernization Task Force confronts a core structural question: how to update local effort calculations tied to 2004 property values while ensuring assessment practices are consistent across counties. We break down the tradeoffs and what…

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  • Weekly Update

    This Week’s Highlights: Top story — A seven-year review of federal data shows enrollment declining in both Kansas and Missouri while staffing per student increases. We break down where growth is concentrated, where roles are shrinking, and what the numbers mean as further enrollment…

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  • Weekly Update

    This Week’s Highlights: Top News – State of the states; we break down what Missouri and Kansas governors signaled on education and workforce policy.  Missouri Update – Early momentum builds around accountability, open enrollment, child care, and literacy, alongside a closer look…

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  • Update – October 2025

    This month’s highlights: Top News – New national polling from the PIE Network reveals a major gap between parents’ perceptions of student achievement and actual performance data. Missouri Update – School Funding Modernization Task Force workgroups are developing early proposals for updating the state’s formula. A new…

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  • 2025 Kansas Cradle to Career Listening Tour

    At Aligned, we believe Kansas thrives when education and workforce systems work together. That belief guided us this year as we launched the Kansas Cradle to Career Listening Tour, a chance to step into communities to hear directly from Kansans about…

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  • Update – June 2025

    This month’s highlights: Top News — Federal debates on the child tax credit and student loans gain momentum, while the Supreme Court lets Oklahoma’s religious charter school ruling stand. Missouri Update — Special session ends with new property tax ballot measures; the school funding task force begins work…

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  • Weekly Update

    This week’s highlights: Top News – U.S. Supreme Court hears case on religious charter schools Missouri Update – Open enrollment bill heard, a new workforce effort launched, and two new education leaders announced Kansas Update – A look at preschool…

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  • Weekly Update

    This week’s highlights: Top News – KCPS seeks its first bond approval since 1967, but it’s just one of dozens of districts asking voters to fund facilities, teacher pay, and school safety upgrades.  Missouri Update – Aligned co-sponsors reception celebrating women in…

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  • Weekly Update

    This week’s highlights: Top News – Enrollment decline lurks behind many conversations in education, fueling concern across the spectrum from early childhood through higher education Missouri Update – the Missouri House Budget Committee approved HB 2, allocating $8.2 billion for elementary and secondary education – we breakdown the funding…

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  • Executive Order… Now What?

    President Trump has signed an executive order directing the closure of the U.S. Department of Education, marking a historic shift in federal education policy. While this move fulfills a longstanding conservative goal of returning education authority to the states, major legal, logistical,…

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